[lynnien]

any advice or suggestions about how to combat fear of success?

[Italiannie]

I have found that celebrating small victories is very helpful. It gives you a chance to cope and get used to things as they change.

Think positive thoughts and remember that your journey is as important as the outcome and it will prepare you for when you reach your goal.

Focus on the "here and now" and don't over analyze things.

This was probably not that helpful, but these things help me to keep things in perspective and help me to put one foot in front of the other.

[chubbybunny29]

When I have fear of success, it is usually that I think there will be expectations on me that I can't handle. When I was single and a virgin, I was (in hindsight) afraid that if I was more attractive that I would be expected to have sex, and I wasn't sure I was ready for that. Now I have met and married a wonderful man who never pressured me for anything.

I have spent a lot of time thinking about this over the last year, and I'm afraid to find that I'm not "enough" and for me, I'm worried that if I am living up to my potential and then I'm not good enough, that'll break my heart. Whereas right now I can say "well I'm fat" so I know what's holding me back. That doesn't make any sense, I know.

I think my advice, after that rant, is to think of what you are actually afraid of...when you picture you having met your goals, what in that picture scares you? Then try to address that.

[pixelllate]

Don't think about the big goal so much, because the fear of the unknown may be causing the fear and the pressure to achieve it. Just think one step at a time, all in the right direction and always remind yourself, there's nothing to be scared of. 3FC will always be here, and we all understand, at every stage.
Once you get to your goal, you will realize that! Try to simplify it - its a change in weight and that is that - you are still YOU. In the end, there's nothing scary about that.
It reminds me, when my violin teacher was teaching me to shift strings he said "all you have to do is just move your finger an inch" and then I realized that I was thinking about all this and that...and really, once I thought "well I just have to move my finger an inch" I did. I do that with artwork as well. Its only a stroke of the pencil and after a few more strokes..and a few more...I made a picture.
The weight loss, it is being at a calorie deficit, and you finding the right way to do that for you.
Remind yourself that if you were scared to accomplish any goal, you would never have achieved anything in life.

[lynnien]

great advice gals (statistically speaking, most of us are gals). I especially like the advice about remembering that I'll still be the same person when I meet my goal. I have to also remember that such fear is related to cognitive distortions. For example, I figured out that the biggest reason for this fear is that there's farther to fall if things fall apart. Success doesn't make failure more likely to occur.